Barnoldswick primary school must improve: Ofsted

A Barnoldswick primary school has been told it “requires improvement” in a report following an Ofsted inspection in June.

Gisburn Road Primary School was rated as requiring improvement in three of the four areas of the report published last Thursday, namely in the sub-sections of achievement of pupils, quality of teaching and leadership and management.

The behaviour and safety of pupils, however, was viewed as “good”.

During its last inspection in 2010 under a previous method of inspection, the school had an overall rating of good with the large share of sub-categories also “good” with a few as “satisfactory”.

The latest report says the school has a number of strengths, including children in early years who “make good progress” with teachers who “plan exciting lessons that make learning fun”.

“According to the inspector’s report, “attainment is rising and is now closer to average especially in reading and writing” while “progress in maths is improving.”

“Behaviour is good” and pupils “strive hard to gain rewards” and “staff care for pupils very well” with pupils saying they “feel safe and happy in school”.

The report goes on to say adjustments in the curriculum has seen “the gap between the progress of boys and girls narrowing” as the headteacher has “worked tirelessly” which has lead to “progress accelerating”.

However the report also states the school is not good because “progress varies” across year groups.

“Teaching fluctuates between years” and the inspector found the pace and variety of lessons and activities “does not always enthuse children” and “work is not always set at the correct level”.

The report goes on to say outdoor activities “are not as exciting as indoor activities” and teaching is “not improving fast enough” because teachers are not responding effectively to weaknesses identified.

Finally, the report concludes that leaders, governors and staff do not make full use of information on pupil progress to take action and improve that progress in those situations and that governors’ “do not ask sufficiently challenging questions” about the school’s performance and pupils’ achievements.

There was nobody at the school available for comment at the time we went to press yesterday.